A resilient, adaptable Fish, Rudd thrives in difficult conditions. Often found in gravel pits, Rudd arrives on eggs stuck to the feet of Birds, flying in from lakes nearby. Moreover, He often appears as if by magic in the barren waters of newly flooded quarries. Rudd is, also, common in man-made lakes and drainage ditches.
A surface-feeding member of the Carp and Minnow Family (Cyprinidae), Rudd can survive in large, slow rivers and lowland lakes that contain little oxygen. Unlike other Carp, Rudd’s steeply angled mouth is ill suited for feeding on the bottom. He prefers snapping up Flies that fall into the water. In addition, He likes eating plants that are fed by fertilizers washed off people's lawns.
This stocky deep-bodied Fish has intense coloring, which cause people to pause in admiration of Him. Rudd has a beautiful golden bronze coloring with red fins. His red-gold color becomes darker on his back. Rudd’s unexpected beauty surprise people who believed that they could not find such a beautiful Fish in barren waters.
Unfortunately, Rudd has been introduced in places where He is unwelcome. In North America, Rudd was accidentally introduced as Baitfish. Meanwhile, New Zealand lists Rudd as a pest. People are fearful that Rudd will crowd out the Native Fish.
One thing that Rudd does is to interbreed with other Fish. He hybridizes with Bream and Roach. If Fish has brown fins instead of bright reddish ones, He is a hybrid Rudd. A Bream with a reddish hue in her fin is a hybrid. A Roach hybrid has equal lips that are neither protruding nor receding.
Rudd teaches how to thrive in unexpected places. Found most anywhere, Rudd thrives in isolated gravel pits, and in rivers polluted with fertilizers. Just remember not to chose just to live in muddy waters.
Rudd picture from “The Scottish Federation for Coarse Angling” (The national governing body for the sport of coarse angling in Scotland.)
Va. Carper
July 23, 2007